CVE-2026-97993 json
vhost-vdpa: don't install the eventfd_ctx_fdget() error in config_ctx
published last mo. modified 23d ago also EUVD-2026-86647
- cvss
- —
- not scored
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.2%
- EPSS 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 12%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
vhost-vdpa: don't install the eventfd_ctx_fdget() error in config_ctx
vhost_vdpa_set_config_call() swaps the eventfd_ctx_fdget() return value into v->config_ctx before checking it, so on failure the field briefly holds an ERR_PTR:
ctx = fd == VHOST_FILE_UNBIND ? NULL : eventfd_ctx_fdget(fd); swap(ctx, v->config_ctx);
if (!IS_ERR_OR_NULL(ctx)) eventfd_ctx_put(ctx);
if (IS_ERR(v->config_ctx)) { long ret = PTR_ERR(v->config_ctx);
v->config_ctx = NULL; return ret; }
Commit 0bde59c1723a ("vhost-vdpa: set v->config_ctx to NULL if eventfd_ctx_fdget() fails") added that clearing, and spelled out the invariant the rest of the file relies on: "we consider 'v->config_ctx' valid if it is not NULL". The window between the swap and the clearing still breaks it. vhost_vdpa_config_cb() only tests for NULL, so a config interrupt delivered inside the window hands the ERR_PTR to eventfd_signal().
Check the fd before installing it instead. That closes the window and matches how vhost_vring_ioctl() handles the same failure for the vq call fd.
It also stops a rejected fd from tearing down a config interrupt that was working: until now the swap replaced the live context and put it, so after an EBADF the device silently stopped delivering config interrupts until userspace installed a new fd.
Patch / fix
- Linux Linux 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7, 7.3
- linux Debian 12 6.1.190-1
- linux Debian 13 6.12.111-1
- linux Debian 14 7.2.7-1
- linux-6.12 Debian 12 6.12.111-1~deb12u1
debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97993
- linux Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-202.212
- linux Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-149.149
- linux Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-42.42
- linux-aws Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1119.126
- linux-aws Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1069.74
- linux-aws Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-1016.17
- linux-gcp Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1120.130
- linux-gcp Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1073.81
ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97993
Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0
- kernel-source Linux Micro 6.0 6.4.0-159998.55.1
- kernel-default Linux Micro 6.0 6.4.0-159998.55.1
- kernel-kvmsmall Linux Micro 6.0 6.4.0-159998.55.1
- kernel-default-base Linux Micro 6.0 6.4.0-159998.55.1.159998.21.42
suse advisories SUSE-SU-2026:24550-1
- kernel-source openSUSE Tumbleweed 7.2.9-1.1
opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2026:12074-1
- kernel Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.158.1-1
azure linux advisories AZL-104534
Azure Linux vulnerability data, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, from https://github.com/microsoft/AzureLinuxVulnerabilityData via OSV, under the MIT licence; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. MIT
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e260dc9fbfdae0978e7a8698f977fbb463a657be commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/66e73fa18910b39fea0941dea5fe091122240855 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4fde085eb839fbb39c25cbba5d2a091ded394877 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/59fc7c1c6b4d325194ca45352180340092d95098 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/388c678639a0cebfd936b3e56c64ac6a371efec2 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/65faf9eaa00e408e1406fbcf675c8c8d0e27ff2a commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/6b20b40f020bde236f6b8a08ff88d8653261ec2b commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e74a9fa50749b9940b4fb13199652325e08d3c4a commit
Is CVE-2026-97993 in your stack? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.
Check with FencerVendor advisories
What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.
red hat product security vex CVE-2026-97993 updated cvss 5.5
kernel: vhost-vdpa: don't install the eventfd_ctx_fdget() error in config_ctx
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, kernel-core, kernel-tools, +29 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 rv, perf, rtla, kernel, bpftool, libperf, +83 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 kernel Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8, openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9 Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9affected: workaround, no fix available “Fix deferred”
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, +8 morenot affected: vulnerable code not present
Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf
Exploit prediction
0.22% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 12% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-11).
Affected products
- Linux Linux
Classification
- Technology feeds
References
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/e260dc9fbfdae0978e7a8698f977fbb463a657be
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/66e73fa18910b39fea0941dea5fe091122240855
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/4fde085eb839fbb39c25cbba5d2a091ded394877
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/59fc7c1c6b4d325194ca45352180340092d95098
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/388c678639a0cebfd936b3e56c64ac6a371efec2
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/65faf9eaa00e408e1406fbcf675c8c8d0e27ff2a
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/6b20b40f020bde236f6b8a08ff88d8653261ec2b
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/e74a9fa50749b9940b4fb13199652325e08d3c4a
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2026-97993
- NVD CVE-2026-97993
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